


I Am Not My Hair

by caramelariana



Category: Digimon Adventure
Genre: Gen, Identity Issues, implied xenophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 00:52:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4586781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caramelariana/pseuds/caramelariana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamato finds out it's not always bad to be different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Am Not My Hair

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by India.Arie's "I Am Not My Hair". Originally posted on ff.net on 6/8/06. Reposted with edits.

An eight-year-old Yamato Ishida stood in front of the bathroom sink with an unopened bottle of black hair dye. He stated at the bottle with trepidation. His eyes filled with tears as he recalled the cruel words of the kids at school.

_Gaijin_.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been called that. Kids had been teasing him since he’d started school. Even grown-ups gave him strange looks when he was out with his father. Just last week a woman had commented on how well he spoke Japanese, assuming he was a foreigner.

He picked up the bottle. If he could get rid of his blond hair, kids wouldn’t tease him anymore. People would know he was Japanese. He turned the bottle around and read through the instructions again. Deciding that he’d be able to do it, he opened the bottle. Just as he was about to dip a strand of his hair to test the dye, a voice spoke up from the doorway.

“Yamato?” The blond boy turned to face his father. “What are you doing?”

“N-nothing,” he stuttered, hiding the bottle behind his back.

Masaharu gave his son a stern look. “Give it here.”

Yamato obeyed and handed his father the bottle. The man read the label and raised an eyebrow. He turned back to his son. “You were trying to dye your hair? On your own?” The young boy nodded. “Do you realize how dangerous that is? You could have burned yourself!” Yamato hung his head.

Masaharu sighed and knelt in front of his son. “Why were you trying to dye your hair, Yamato?”

“To be more Japanese,” he whispered.

His father frowned. “What do you mean?”

“The kids at school, they call me _gaijin_. Everyone thinks I’m not Japanese.” He glared at his reflection. “All because of my stupid hair!”

“Yamato,” sighed Masaharu. He pulled his son into a hug. “Having blond hair does not make you any less Japanese.”

The boy sniffed. “But at school—”

“Ignore them,” Masaharu interrupted sternly. “Yamato, your hair doesn’t determine who you are. It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside. It’s what’s inside that counts.”

Yamato looked at his father. “But I’m so different…”

Masaharu smiled. “Different isn’t always bad, Yamato. Just wait, in a few years the girls will be all over you for your blond hair.”

The young boy stuck out his tongue. “Why would I want that?”

His father laughed. “You’ll see.” He stood up. “How about I order pizza for dinner?”

Yamato grinned. “Sounds great.”

“Oh, and Yamato?” His father held the bottle up in front of his son. “No more hair dying attempts, okay?”

~

A sixteen-year-old Yamato signed into his email account, only to find 500 new messages waiting for him. He sighed. He was going to have to change his email address _again_. He didn’t know how his fans kept finding his email address, but it was getting ridiculous.

_Is that India?_

He smiled as the song started, only to frown when it was cut short. He turned around. “Taichi!”

“What?” his best friend asked, retracting his hand from the CD player.

“Put it back!” he demanded.

“Fine! Don’t bite my head off.” He turned the CD back to the previous song. “What is this anyway?”

Yamato smiled. “I Am Not My Hair.”

**Author's Note:**

>  _Gaijin_ translates to foreigner. It is sometimes used as a derogatory term.


End file.
